An incredible top five finish for a tenacious Tommy in Aragón’s Race 1!

The first of the weekend’s WorldSBK races at Motorland Aragón saw an unwavering Tommy Bridewell put in his strongest performance of the season so far. Having qualified a strong P8 with his Panigale V4R in Superpole, the Superbike Advocates Racing rider ran an almost perfect Race1 to finish fifth.

Earlier in the day, a final practice ran on a cooler track with respect to Friday’s sessions, allowing the entire field to improve on its previous best. Bridewell took well over a second off his FP1 time, completing 8 laps and setting a fastest time of 1’48.465 to consolidate his place inside the top ten.

During the subsequent 15-minute Superpole, Tommy went all out to achieve the best possible grid position for the first of the weekend’s races. Completing a total of four fast laps during this brief qualifying phase, the British rider’s best lap came in the final seconds. A time of 1’47.940 was enough to see the Brit qualify a very strong eighth, for a spot on row three of the grid for Race 1. A subsequent penalty for another rider meant that Bridewell actually started the race from seventh position.

Bridewell made a lightning start when the lights went out on Race 1, the British rider moving straight up into fifth place. While the three frontrunners quickly built a small gap, Tommy focused on sticking close to fourth-placed Alex Lowes. Maintaining a consistently quick pace, the Ducati rider was able to manage the central phase of the race effectively, taking care to conserve the Pirelli tyres in preparation for the delicate final phase on very hot asphalt. During the final laps, Bridewell did well to defend himself from a fierce attack by fellow Ducati rider Baldassarri. Intent on a top five finish today, the steadfast Superbike Advocates Racing rider held firm to secure P5, just 0.065 of a second ahead of “Balda”.

With this result, Bridewell boosts his points tally to 30 and moves into sixteenth place in the championship standings. And the weekend is not over yet, as tenacious Tommy and his team have two more opportunities on Sunday, when they will be back out at Motorland for the Superpole Race and second 18-lap SBK race.

Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates Racing #46)
“A very positive day! Much of the hard work was done by qualifying P8, which gave us a fighting chance. That became P7 on the grid following a penalty for another rider, so that put me on the outside as the race began. I made a great start and was lying around fifth out of turn one, and then I basically just held my position. I felt great on the bike and the only thing that was a concern was the tyre life - I wasn’t sure if we might struggle with that, but the tyres held out pretty well, just a small drop in the last few laps but not too bad. So, a really positive day; for the team and I to finish top five in the world is a big statement. We just need to keep our feet on the ground, keep building, and take results like this when they come our way. A big thank you to the team for all their fantastic work.”